I-15 express lanes to close in Mira Mesa

Weekend closures are set for the I-15 express lanes through Mira Mesa, starting with a northbound lanes closure at 11 p.m. Friday. The travel stoppage will allow crews to build a scaffolding for the Mira Mesa Direct Access Ramp, which is expected to connect near Miramar College. Photo by Don Boomer/UT San Diego

Weekend closures are set for the I-15 express lanes through Mira Mesa, starting with a northbound lanes closure at 11 p.m. Friday. The travel stoppage will allow crews to build a scaffolding for the Mira Mesa Direct Access Ramp, which is expected to connect near Miramar College. Photo by Don Boomer/UT San Diego

Parts of the spacious carpool corridor in the middle of Interstate 15 in Mira Mesa will close over the next two weekends as crews build a direct access ramp, according to the California Department of Transportation.

From Miramar Road to Mira Mesa Boulevard, all northbound travel on the I-15 Express Lanes will shut down starting at 11 p.m. Friday through 5 a.m. Monday, Caltrans said.

Southbound travel on the corridor will stop the following weekend, from 11 p.m. on May 10 to 5 a.m. on May 13, from Camino Del Norte to Miramar way.

The Mira Mesa ramp, scheduled to open by fall 2014, will be the fifth and final such structure built along the 20-mile express lanes network, according to Caltrans.

It is part of a $58 million project that includes construction of the Miramar College Transit Station, on Hillery Drive at Westview Parkway. The ramp will start near the transit hub, slope up between two apartment buildings and cross over the freeway's outer lanes into the interior express lanes.